'Kay. This has NOTHING to do with my real life. That is a fact. I just thought that I would write a story about a trio of BFFs who have to deal with…issues. :) I don't exactly like it, but I'm giving it a shot.
~CampHB
(By the way, this is in Theia's point of view. The only reason I included Latin was because I take Latin, and thought that it might be cool.)
Five months ago...
"Theia, watch over your friends. I think they may be half-bloods from what you've told me," Chiron was saying.
"Okay."
I started to pack up my things. I would be leaving for New Jersey soon.
"Hey, Theia." Annabeth stood in the doorway.
"Hi."
"Uh…" For once, Annabeth seemed at a loss for words.
"What?"
"Um…while you're in school in NJ, uh, can you try to…" This was the first time I had heard Annabeth stutter or be shy about saying something.
"Look for Percy or see if he's there or anything?" I finished.
"Yeah." She blushed. "Leo's almost finished building the ship, Argos II, and I know that the other camp is no where near you, but I still…" She faltered again.
"It's okay," I told her. "I'll be on the lookout."
"You will? Thanks." She cracked a smile. She left the room and I saw her pump her fist like she had just won something.
Now: December 13th; 11:27; Ridgewood Middle, New Jersey
I could sense something was wrong with Reagan. She didn't seem okay. We ran in the gym, our sneakers pounding to the beat of the sound that was blaring out from the speakers. She was silent.
"Hey, Reagan, you okay?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah." She started to speed up a little bit.
What Chiron had told me was still imprinted in my mind. I was a little afraid for my friends and for myself. When no one else was in the room with me, I would say a few Greek words that suddenly popped onto my tongue.
I had started sensing monsters, even though I was alone sometimes. A few had attacked me outside of school, but I had killed them. I imagined what would have happened if my BFFs had been with me.
I thought about what god or goddess would be Reagan's parent. Hermes? Sure, Reagan was sneaky, but not so big about pranks like the Stoll Brothers. Zeus? No way. Athena? Nada. Reagan had a high IQ, but she was really absent-minded and non-logical. Ares…No. She wasn't very violent.
Gym was almost finished. Soon, Mr. Hardy called us over. "Good running today, class," he growled. "Basketball tomorrow. See you."
On that happy note, we ran off to our gym lockers.
Reagan and I stopped by the Cafeteria to pick up Sophie, who had Health this marking period.
"Learn anything interesting?" Reagan asked teasingly.
"Uh, no." Smart, know-it-all Sophie pretended to barf.
We laughed. The three of us walked into our social studies class just as the bell rang. Mr. Peterson peered at us through the tops of his glasses.
"You're almost late, girls," he commented.
I settled down in my seat and tried to block out the sound of Mr. Peterson's long, boring, excruciating lecture.
"The Civil War started in 1861," he started to drone. "Abraham Lincoln was the president at the time..."
A few minutes into the speech, the intercom suddenly crackled. "Seventh graders, please report to the Auditorium. Seventh graders, please report to the Auditorium."
"That's us," I murmured.
"...then at the battle of -"
I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, clutching my binder. The whole class raced out of the room before Mr. Peterson could protest.
"Students!" I heard him yell after us. "Students! You will not rush down the hall in such a barbaric manner. You should all be ashamed! You are dismissed when I -"
The class laughed as the door closed in his face, shutting out his voice.
The Auditorium wasn't a long way off. We just had to turn the corner and go straight to get there. Most of the kids were already filing in and filling into the red plush seats.
There was a man on the stage, dressed all in black. He wore a black suit, a black shirt, black tie, black shoes, and had one of those Bailey hats they wore in the 1920s. He had things like poker cards, wooden crates, a standing white board, and a table around him. When we came in, it was like he zoomed in on the three of us. I saw him staring, and he immediately broke contact.
My instincts told me to run and get out of there, but I didn't, and usually when I don't follow my guts, something always goes wrong. But being a little ADHD, you can't always trust your sixth sense because that's when you get in trouble with mortals.
When everything had settled down, the man clapped his hands.
"Hello, everyone," he said. "I am happy to be here today. My name is Mr. Jefferson J. Burke. You can call me Mr. Jefferson or just Mr. Burke."
A few kids clapped. Mr. Burke bowed low, sweeping his hat off his head.
"It is my pleasure to be here today. Now, who here likes math?"
Immediately, Sophie's hand shot up. Mine followed unsteadily. Reagan grunted.
"Please," she scoffed.
"Hey, you shouldn't be talking," Sophie whispered. "Wait, who's the one who got a 77 on their report card for math? Oh, right. It was Reagan."
"Shut up!"
"Well, for those of you who like math, that's good for you, because today we're going to study about math. In a fun way," Mr. Burke continued. "And for those of you who don't like math, well, try to pay attention, 'cause we're going to have a lot of fun…and magic."
Straight away, Reagan began to sink into her chair.
"Wake me up if you need me or there's a teacher," she muttered.
Sophie looked on eagerly as I started to zone out, preventing any part of Mr. Burke's voice to bore me…
…I was floating in a cloudless space. Stars twinkled above me. The earth was far below me. The sight actually looked pretty cool for a person like me who didn't really care about astronomy.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice nearby startled me. I almost jumped, but I couldn't, since I was still floating weight-free in space.
"Uh, yeah."
"Yes. The sky is my daughter's son."
"Your daughter?" I turned to see a man.
He was tall, about 6' 4''. He had a blond-brown hair with matching stubble on his face. His eyes were twinkling, but they were fully black and dotted with a few flecks of colors, exactly like Reagan's eyes. The man strode toward me.
"Yes, he said. I promised not to reveal too much, but my daughter is the Earth. Mother Earth. She is growing restless."
"Right." I looked down at my home planet uncertainly. This summer at camp, I had heard enough about Jason, the new Great Prophecy, the missing camper, Perseus Jackson, and Gaea waking from a deep sleep.
He smiled at me. "I was forced to send a child into the war. She is your friend, I believe, Theia."
I didn't know how he knew my name, but he called me like he'd always known me.
"Who are you?" I asked. I felt confused, like when a bunch of words swirled around in my brain, making word mush. Believe me, it is not fun.
The man laughed out loud. "I am not allowed to tell, little goddess. I haven't been sworn to secrecy, but it is best to let the Earth herself find out."
Little goddess. He called me a little goddess.
"Your name is Greek," he explained. "It means 'Goddess.' Your friend Sophie's name means 'Wise.' Reagan's…" He turned away when he said her name. "Reagan's means 'Impulsive', much like her mother." He wiped something away from his eye.
"Right." I was sure I was making such a good impression with my one-to-two syllable words.
The man smiled again. "Anyway," he said. "You should be getting back to your friends. Take care, because something will happen. And also, try to remember the number 13, Theia."
He began to walk away from me. I wanted to call him back and ask him about a billion more questions: How did he know my name? Who was his kid? Who was he, in the first place?
"Theia." My name bounced back to me. "Theia. Theia. Theia. THEIA!"
"THEIA! HELLOOO? ANYBODY HOME?" Sophie was knocking on the side of my head.
"What?" I snapped.
"Earth to Theia." She waved her hand in front of my face.
""Kay! I'm awake! What?"
"Mr. Burke called you up for a magic trick!"
"Oh." I blushed as I stepped out of my aisle and walked up the stairs onto the stairs.
Mr. Burke smiled. It didn't seem like a nice smile though, like the guy in space. It seemed like a cruel smile, like a Yay! You're gonna die soon! smile.
"Now," Mr. Burke said. "I am going to make you disappear, but you have to answer math questions correctly to advance to the trick."
I could imagine Reagan snorting in her seat, trying to choke back laughter. It did seem really stupid, to be honest.
"Okay, here's the first one: x + 12 = 25.9."
"x = 13.9," I said.
"Second one: 12x = 144."
"x = 12."
"Good. Third one. This is a little harder: 6x + 187 – 96 = 169."
"Uh…" A little harder? This was really hard. My brain was whirring as I tried to do the calculation in my head. So 169 + 96 was 265 or 26 or 65 or 200? And what was 169 – 187? The numbers seemed to whirl around, making me dizzy.
"Well?" Mr. Burke asked.
"Uh…" 13. A small voice in my brain nagged me. 13. The man said to remember the number 13.
"Um, 13?" I asked.
Mr. Burke narrowed his eyes at me. I decided I did not like this guy.
"Correct," he said crisply. "Now, onto the disappearing trick."
He turned to the audience, giving his trademark grin. I thought it looked evil. "I am going to make…"
"Theia."
"…Theia disappear."
He turned back to me. "Okay. Theia, just stand there and don't move."
His hands whirled around in a circle formation, like he was going to make some weird ball of energy.
"Abracadabra," he said.
The audience snickered.
"Wolemly-woo…"
More scoffing.
"Olempa-petula…"
Smirks were filling people's faces.
"Cradile-lasu."
There was outright laughter. I wasn't laughing though. Something felt different. There was a change in the air pressure, and I had to swallow to pop my ears.
"Filia deum, esse moriturum!" he suddenly cried.
"Say what?" I asked with a confused look.
The energy in his hand swirled and he aimed it at me. Thunder sounded inside the Auditorium. The roof was suddenly whipped away, leaving the ceiling open. Heavy, gray clouds were above our heads. Yet around the Auditorium, the sky was clear. Only the Auditorium had rain clouds.
The energy was bolting for me. Out of instinct and practice, I unleashed my hunting knives: Νίκη and Χάρη; or Victory and Grace. I dodged out of the way with inhuman speed, only given to me by my mother, Nike, goddess of Victory.
"Wretched demigod!" the monster cursed. "No fear, I can and will still kill you."
Wind slammed me into a wall, pinning me there. The monster walked over to me, wielding a sword. He laughed cruelly. Then he raised his weapon.
I flinched, and hoped for a quick death, praying to Hades and Thanatos.
"No! Not my friend!" I heard someone yell.
Reagan leaped onto the stage and glared at the monster.
"If you want to spill a demigod's blood, why not have mine?"
"Reagan, no!"
The monster sniffed in her direction. "You have a strong aura, half-blood. I guess you will do, too."
He let me slip to the floor half-unconscious, but not before taking a swipe at me with his long nails, opening a cut on my shoulder.
Sophie raced to me.
"Venti!" she hissed.
"English, please?" I asked.
"Storm spirits. Sorry. That was the Latin term."
This was confusing. How did Reagan know I was a half-blood? And how did Sophie know that storm spirits were venti in Latin?
Reagan. She was handling a double-edged sword in her hand. She was crouched low and flying away from the spirit's attacks. Flying. Flying! Reagan was flying! I figured I was hallucinating.
The storm spirit clashed blades with her. She flipped and stabbed him in the shoulder, but there was armor there. She cursed. He attacked again. After a few minutes, I saw Reagan weakening. She was getting tired.
The venti seemed to sense it too. He grinned maliciously and edged her forward, near a sucking black hole that was near where the roof had been.
"My mistress is calling me," he said in a sing-song way. "And I am taking you back with me!"
He lunged. Reagan desperately flew under him and knocked the sword out of his hand. She pulled him into a headlock and put the double-edged sword against his throat.
"Lights out," she whispered. Then, she stabbed him, and I blacked out.
'Kay. So…how did you like it?
~CampHB
